wo months ago a radical experiment in one London state school hit the headlines. All Saints Catholic Collegein what was reported as a bold attempt to break students’ phone addictions.
We cross the playground to a dance studio which has been turned into a breakfast buffet for the “7-7” children, offering eggs and hash browns to hungry 11- to 13-year-olds, who can then play Jenga or Uno until the school day proper begins at 8.30am. The 12-hour day idea emerged as a remedy to “reconnect young people to school” and to reframe school as a place not just for learning but also fun. Concerned at how many pupils would leave school, turn on their phones and stare at the screen until bedtime , O’Neill wanted to give them a chance to socialise and play together in person.Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian
When the normal school day ends at 3.15pm, the extended provision begins again. First there is an hour of homework – something the children insist they appreciate the most, because it gets it out of the way. “Work hard, play hard,” deadpans Alex, 11, who got his first phone at the age of five.